Ramco Systems opens innovation lab in Singapore

Claimed to be the first of its kind in Asia, the lab, located at Ramco’s regional HQ in Singapore, is the company’s most significant aviation investment in Asia to date.Shilpa Elizabeth | ET Bureau | February 18, 2016, 17:05 IST

CHENNAI: In a bid to develop advanced aviation IT solutions, Chennai based software products and services provider Ramco Systems has opened an engineering lab in Singapore, with Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance as the first anchor partner. The lab would look at developing solutions like wearables for ground engineers and drones to inspect aircraft on the tarmac.

Supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the lab will also work towards developing intellectual property (IP) to solve problems faced by the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry. Claimed to be the first of its kind in Asia, the lab, located at Ramco's regional headquarters in Singapore, is the company's most significant aviation investment in Asia to date.

"We are happy to have partnered with Singapore EDB in setting up this co-innovation Lab, which will be the platform for developing solutions that can transform operations for the complete eco-system of the aerospace industry," said P R Venketrama Raja, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Ramco Systems.

The formation of the Lab comes amid rising concerns that the global MRO industry is trailing in innovation and could face major bottlenecks in a growing international air traffic scenario, as well as expansion of airports. The facility will serve as a collaborative platform for airlines and disruptive tech companies.

"Through this Lab, Ramco will work with leading aerospace companies and airlines in Singapore to co-develop and catalyse lead adoption of transformative digital solutions. The collaborations will enable delivery of greater value and new services offerings for the industry from Singapore."

The Lab will gradually scale up to employ more than 50 global innovators in Singapore, who will work also on solutions such as "Internet of Things", machine learning equipment which can cut down on manual maintenance and checking and analytics for engineering planning and optimisation to reduce aircraft on ground.